Pulling left while driving, right while breaking

[MacStainless]

Went out for a drive today and the next "thing I need to deal with" has come up. While driving, the car was pulling left and I had to be quite aware of the road. Then while breaking the car was pulling to the right, meaning I had to compensate then too. In between, of course my clutch was acting up and it was getting VERY hard to shift. I was able to get home albeit with rolling through some stop signs and staying in 3rd as much as possible. When I got home, I could smell a very hot almost-but-not-quite burning-type of smell coming from the driver's wheel side. I looked at the passenger side and it smelled "hot" but didn't have the smell from the driver's side.

My calipers were rebuilt in '21 with new pads and resurfaced rotors, along with a new DGo brake master cylinder installed shortly after, still in 2021. To my knowledge, the lines were not replaced.

I've taken the car out twice before this year and none of these issues were happening. Though today I did observe the brake pedal felt stiff.

I don't have a lift or jacks in my garage, just ramps. Is there something I can check or look at to get some insight on this? Anything I can try to fiddle with? I figure this'll be a job I'll ned to likely reach out for professional assistance on, but I figured I'd ask. Thank you.

[JRNY13]

Mine was doing the same thing. It turns out my front brakes were "frozen." Had a bad smell coming from front driver's side wheel. It was also super hot to the touch. Needed new pads and brake hoses.

[David T]

First thing, check the tire pressures. A low tire can cause a pull to one side. Pulling while applying the brakes means the side you do NOT pull towards is not working. To check the brakes you are going to have to raise the car and take the wheels off. If the brake hoses are original they should be replaced. Possible you have a dragging caliper on the left and/or a bad hose on the left side. All of these symptoms point to a problem on the front, left wheel. A small floor jack and a set of jackstands is not expensive at Hobo Freight.

[MacStainless]

First thing, check the tire pressures. A low tire can cause a pull to one side. Pulling while applying the brakes means the side you do NOT pull towards is not working. To check the brakes you are going to have to raise the car and take the wheels off. If the brake hoses are original they should be replaced. Possible you have a dragging caliper on the left and/or a bad hose on the left side. All of these symptoms point to a problem on the front, left wheel. A small floor jack and a set of jackstands is not expensive at Hobo Freight.

Thanks Dave. For a jack / jack stands are the 3 ton okay or do I need 6 ton jack stands? For a floor jack I have no clue what weight I should get. Any links or direct recommendations would be great. I?m extremely weary of anything I?d need to do myself with the car lifted.

Also, can any of this interfere with the clutch line or anything shifting related? My clutch was acting up a few months ago but seemed to resolve itself until the last 10 min of my drive today.

[David T]

Thanks Dave. For a jack / jack stands are the 3 ton okay or do I need 6 ton jack stands? For a floor jack I have no clue what weight I should get. Any links or direct recommendations would be great. I?m extremely weary of anything I?d need to do myself with the car lifted.

Also, can any of this interfere with the clutch line or anything shifting related? My clutch was acting up a few months ago but seemed to resolve itself until the last 10 min of my drive today.

3 ton is plenty. The clutch is a separate problem. A flush with fresh fluid and bleed may take care of it. While you are flushing and bleeding the clutch I would also do the brakes. If you are not comfortable lifting the car either get someone to help that knows what they are doing or take the car to a shop.

[MacStainless]

3 ton is plenty. The clutch is a separate problem. A flush with fresh fluid and bleed may take care of it. While you are flushing and bleeding the clutch I would also do the brakes. If you are not comfortable lifting the car either get someone to help that knows what they are doing or take the car to a shop.

Thanks Dave. Appreciate the info as always. With a lot of this work, esp with the clutch now, I'm trying to weigh learning to do this myself because if I can't shift / have shifting issues while driving, then getting the car anywhere will be difficult and I don't want to get it towed just yet. I can't be THAT hard of a job, right? lol

[David T]

Thanks Dave. Appreciate the info as always. With a lot of this work, esp with the clutch now, I'm trying to weigh learning to do this myself because if I can't shift / have shifting issues while driving, then getting the car anywhere will be difficult and I don't want to get it towed just yet. I can't be THAT hard of a job, right? lol

Figuring out what the problem is can be the hardest part of the job. Actually replacing the parts is not that difficult. Replacing parts that don't need replacing is a waste of time and money so you really want to "get it right" and only replace the parts you have to. The next important thing is safety. No one should get hurt doing a hobby. There are plenty of Youtubes on how to jack a car and put jackstands under it for safety. Yes, driving/shifting on a wonky clutch will damage the transmission. You will have to invest in some tools but the first time you use them they will have paid for themselves in the savings of having a shop fix the car. Every time you use them after that they are FREE!